Leaving your pet in your car in California can not only be fatal to your pet, it is also illegal. We hear the same excuses every summer:

• "I was in the store for a short time"

• "I left the windows cracked"

• "It's not that hot outside"

• "I parked in the shade"

The State of California Penal Code 597.7 states: "No person shall leave an animal in any unattended motor vehicle under conditions that endanger the health or well-being of an animal due to heat, cold, lack of adequate ventilation, or lack of food and water, or other circumstances that could reasonably be expected to cause suffering, disability, or death to the animal."

There are few places in California where you can leave your pet in a car during the summer

• When it's 72 degrees Fahrenheit outside, the temperature inside your car can heat up to 116 degrees Fahrenheit within an hour.

• When it's 95 degrees Fahrenheit outside, the temperature of a small car that was just air-conditioned can exceed 122 degrees Fahrenheit within 20 minutes and soar to 150 degrees Fahrenheit within 40 minutes.

Cracking your windows will not prevent your pet from overheating. Studies have proven that rolling down the windows have little effect on the temperature inside the vehicle. Even if the windows are completely down the temperature inside your vehicle can be dangerously high. You will also be running the risk of your dog jumping out of the window and getting lost, hit by a car or stolen.

Central Valley summer temperatures are often in the triple digits and are rarely lower than 90 degrees during the day. When it gets this hot outside, parking in the shade will give little relief to an animal inside a vehicle. Even if the shade drops the temperature by a few degrees, the sun moves so parking your car in the shade will not last long.

Law enforcement officers and animal control officers who see an animal in a car that appears to be suffering are legally permitted to do whatever is necessary to remove the animal from the car. This means breaking windows or doors if necessary.

Not only will you be paying to repair the damage to your vehicle, you will be fined a minimum of $100 and up to $500, you could be arrested and depending on the extent of injury to your pet, you could be facing animal cruelty or animal neglect charges which carry jail or prison sentences. All of this on top of the great extent of suffering your pet will be subjected to inside the vehicle.

What should you do if you see a pet inside a vehicle?

• Note the license plate number, color, make and model of the vehicle. If the vehicle is near a business, go inside and ask the manager or store associate to make an announcement.

• If the owner cannot be located call Animal Control at 713-4957 or the non-emergency police line at 734-8116.

Animal Control Officers carry laser thermometers to check the vehicle's interior temperature. However if the animal is in distress, no matter what the reading, the Officer will remove the pet.